Mental Factors and Tilt
May 21 2008
It doesn’t matter how good a poker player you think you are. Every now and then everyone goes through a cold run at the tables. How long these bad runs last usually depend more on you than the cards. The next time the cards seem to go cold on you, remember these four quick tips:
1. Examine your play – Are you sure it’s the cards that are failing you and not yourself? Everyone has some holes in their game and it’s very easy for new ones to develop over time without you even knowing. The next time you can’t seem to get your bankroll to stop falling, step back and examine your play. Look for losing patterns and if you find holes in your game that are leaking chips, be sure to plug them the next time you play.
2. Don’t dwell on bad beats – Everyone seems to have their own bad beat story these days. Maybe yours is about getting your pocket aces cracked, or having that one card that could beat yours fall on the river. Whatever bad beat recently took you down, be sure to leave it in the past the next time you play. Dwelling on bad beats can cause you to play scared in the future. If your bad beat came when you were holding A-J you might play A-J weak the next time and end up costing yourself even more money.
3. Don’t play for even – Always play to win. Never, ever play to get back to even. If you say to yourself, “I’ll just play until I get back to where I started,” then there’s a good chance you’ll never get there. Again, playing scared is hardly ever profitable and playing to get to even is a form of playing scared. Always play to win or don’t play at all.
4. Take a break – If things are really going bad don’t be afraid to step away from the game entirely for a little bit. Take a break for an hour, a day, even a week if that’s how long you need to clear your head. Nothing drains your stack like playing on tilt. If you ever feel tilt coming on, get away from the tables before it costs you big time.
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